Sporting equipment with light emitting means

ABSTRACT

Sporting equipment with a built-in light emitting means includes a plurality of LEDs installed in a backboard or a display board for instruction, a solar battery and a rechargeable battery, each battery being electrically connected for power supply to the LEDs. The sporting equipment helps people enjoy sports even at night time and also functions as a street light for increasing the beauty of the night views of a city and as outdoor lighting for crime prevention.

CROSS-REFERENCE(S) TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention claims priority of Korean utility model applications NO. 20-2006-16431 and No. 20-2006-18902, which are incorporated by the reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to sporting equipment such as an outdoor basketball goal; and, more particularly, to sporting equipment with a built-in light emitting means including a light emitting diode (hereinafter, referred to as an LED), a drive circuit, etc., provided to the backboard of a basketball goal or an electronic display board of sporting equipment to radiate light, so that people can easily locate the sporting equipment and keep playing even at night time or when it is dark.

With increasing interest in health in recent years, there has been a sharp increase in the population that enjoys active sports as well as plain and simple sports. These people enjoy doing simple exercises or workouts at any place, for example, in an apartment complex, on the terrace land next to the river, in the street, at a playground, and so on. To encourage exercise and to increase the convenience for residents, all the local governments have installed sporting equipment from simple sport outfits like horizontal bars, parallel bars, etc., to more active sport apparatuses like basketball goals and fitness (health club) equipment in designated locations.

In case of the fitness (health club) equipment, each piece comes with a display board that offers instruction and a picture of the correct and effective position for using that particular fitness equipment, so that a beginner may not get injured and instead learn how to maximize the exercise effects.

However, most places where a basketball goal or other sporting equipment is installed do not proper devices for illumination at night, so people cannot use the sporting equipment at night time after the sun has gone down. Even though there are some places with lighting systems, their operation hours at night are very limited for reasons, such as the manager's work hours, maintenance costs and so on. These factors continue prevent people from using the sporting equipment freely during night time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, an objective of the present invention to provide sporting equipment with a light emitting means built into the backboard of a basketball goal or display board to help people enjoy sports even at night time.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide sporting equipment with a dual function as a street light for increasing the beauty of the night views of a city landscape and as an outdoor lighting for crime prevention, when installed on the street.

Still another objective of the present invention is to provide sporting equipment that does not require a long-term repair and can be handled with low manpower and substantially reduced maintenance costs.

In accordance with the present invention, sporting equipment is provided with a light emitting means including a plurality of LEDs, a solar battery and a rechargeable battery, each battery being used as a power supply for the LEDs.

The other objectives and advantages of the invention will be understood by the following description and will also be appreciated by the embodiments of the invention more clearly. Further, the objectives and advantages of the invention will readily be seen that they can be realized by the means and its combination specified in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of a first embodiment of the backboard of a basketball goal among sporting equipment with a built-in light emitting means, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view of a solar battery provided for the basketball goal;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the backboard having grooves formed therein;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram to explain the operation of the light emitting means built in the basketball goal;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a second embodiment of the backboard of a basketball goal among sporting equipment with a built-in light emitting means, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a third embodiment of the backboard of a basketball goal among sporting equipment with a built-in light emitting means, in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the outdoor fitness (health club) equipment among sporting equipment with a built-in light emitting means, in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be set forth in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the invention.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of the backboard of a basketball goal among sporting equipment with a built-in light emitting means, in accordance with the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exemplary view of a solar battery provided for the basketball goal, FIG. 3 is a front view of the backboard having grooves formed therein, and FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram to explain the operation of the light emitting means built in the basketball goal.

As shown in these drawings, the embodiment of a basketball goal among sporting equipment with a built-in light emitting means includes a backboard 1 made of transparent plastic, preferably transparent acryl, and a circular rim 2 fixed at right angles to a lower central portion of the backboard 1. Of course, the circular rim 2 may include a net 3 of a cylindrical configuration suspended from the rim. The backboard 1 may be attached to a frame (not shown) or a post.

The top end (or the bottom end) of the transparent backboard is a space 11 with a designated depth for accommodating a light emitting means therein. Therefore, a plurality of LEDs 12 and a print circuit board 16 including a photosensitive drive circuit 15 (to be described) are fixed to the top of the space 11 by an adhesive such as silicon or another fixing means. Lights from a plurality of LEDs 12 transmit through the entire, transparent backboard 1. The number of LEDs 12 is arbitrary determined depending on the required level of illuminance.

The solar battery 13 and the rechargeable battery 14 (not shown), each battery supplying power to the LEDs 12, are assembled together or separately onto the rear side frame or post of the basketball goal, and are electrically connected to the LEDs 12. Although their installation positions are not specified, it is preferable to set the solar battery 13 to in the location and direction for receiving as much sunlight as possible. Here, each of the solar battery 13 and the rechargeable battery 14 should have a capacity capable of radiating the LEDs 12 for at least 8 hours after sundown or at low light level after they have been charged during the day.

Since LEDs, by their nature, are shock resistant and highly efficient, maintenance costs are not incurred. In addition, the fact that maintenance fees are hardly spent on the solar battery is another merit of the present invention.

Preferably, the photosensitive drive circuit 15 capable of sensing sunset or a low light level is additionally provided to the printed circuit board 16, so as to enable the LEDs 12 to automatically radiate when the space surrounding the basketball goal gets dark. In this manner, no manpower for the management of the light emitting means is necessary.

Optionally, the front side (or the rear side) of the transparent backboard 1 may have lines or grooves 17 of diverse patterns, as shown in FIG. 3, which are formed by a router. With these grooves 17, lights from the LEDs 12 refract along the grooves and create lines or patterns, which resultantly make the backboard 1 easily visible and noticeably stand out in the dark, thereby improving the surrounding night scenery.

To explain the operation of the basketball goal among sporting equipment with a light emitting means according to the present invention, during the daytime, the rechargeable battery 14 is being charged by the solar battery 13, and when the sun goes down or when the light level is low, the photosensor senses light below a predetermined illuminance, and the photosensitive drive circuit 15 applies a voltage to the LEDs 12 to radiate them.

Under the light radiated by the LEDs 12, people can play basketball even at night time. Moreover, when the backboard of the basketball goal with the LEDs is installed near the street, it serves as a street light and/or outdoor lighting for crime prevention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of the backboard of a basketball goal among sporting equipment with a built-in light emitting means, in accordance with the present invention. In the second embodiment, not only the top end but also both sides of the transparent backboard 1 have a space 11 of a designated depth, so that a printed circuit board 16 having a plurality of LEDs 12 is additionally set in the spaces on both sides of the backboard 1.

As LED lights are radiated not only from the top but also from both sides, lines or patterned grooves 17 as in the first embodiment are not formed on the backboard 1.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a third embodiment of the backboard of a basketball goal among sporting equipment with a built-in light emitting means, in accordance with the present invention. In the third embodiment, a plurality of through holes 18 are formed in a transparent or opaque backboard 1, and a printed circuit board 16 having a plurality of LEDs 12 arranged in correspondence to the through holes 18 is attached to the rear side of the backboard 1. Here, the front side of the backboard 1 may be coated with a suitable coating material, and a solar battery and a rechargeable battery are positioned on the rear frame of the basketball hoop backboard.

In this way, even a conventional basketball backboard can be modified to accommodate a built-in light emitting means as in the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating an example of outdoor fitness (health club) equipment among sporting equipment with a built-in light emitting means, in accordance with the present invention. In particular, FIG. 7 shows sporting equipment attached with a “twist board” for waist and hip trimming exercise, as one example of outdoor fitness (health club) equipment with a built-in light emitting means according to the present invention. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to all types of sporting equipment that has a display board for instruction or a support plate.

Referring to FIG. 7, the sporting equipment with a built-in light emitting means of the present invention includes a display board with instruction 1′ (this can be used simply as a support plate) made of transparent plastic, preferably transparent acryl, and a sporting equipment body 2′ connected to the display board 1′.

The display board 1′ has a configuration that is the same as one of the backboards 1 described in the first, second and third embodiments of the basketball goal, in which a plurality of LEDs (not shown), a solar battery 13 and a rechargeable battery (not shown), each battery supplying power to the LEDs, are provided. Thus, each element operates in the same manner. As shown in FIG. 7, the solar battery 13 and the rechargeable battery may be installed together at the top of the display board 1′ or separately at the pole, to be electrically connected to a plurality of LEDs built in the display board 1′.

In conclusion, the sporting equipment with a light emitting means of the present invention helps people enjoy sports even during the night time, functions as a street light for increasing the beauty of the night views of a city and as outdoor lighting for crime prevention, and does not require long-term repair and can be managed with low manpower and substantially reduce maintenance costs with the use of LEDs and a solar battery.

While the present invention has been described with respect to the specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. 

1. Sporting equipment, comprising: a plurality of LEDs, a solar battery and a rechargeable battery, each battery being electrically connected to the LEDs for power supply.
 2. The sporting equipment according to claim 1, wherein the sporting equipment includes a basketball goal formed of a backboard and a circular rim, and the backboard is made of transparent plastic and comprises a space formed on at least one end to accommodate a plurality of LEDs by means of a printed circuit board.
 3. The sporting equipment according to claim 2, wherein the backboard has lines or patterned grooves formed therein.
 4. The sporting equipment according to claim 1, wherein the sporting equipment includes outdoor fitness equipment comprised of a display panel for instruction and a body of the fitness equipment, and the display board is made of transparent plastic and comprises a space formed on at least one end to accommodate a plurality of LEDs by means of a printed circuit board.
 5. The sporting equipment according to claim 2 further comprising a photosensitive drive circuit including a photosensor capable of sensing sundown or a low light level.
 6. The sporting equipment according to claim 4 further comprising a photosensitive drive circuit including a photosensor capable of sensing sundown or a low light level. 